Outlet stores have come a long way, baby. No longer mere repositories of last season's cast-offs, factory stores are now among the healthiest retail sectors, hawking new, trendy items made expressly for them. Credit the recession for the change -- and for more reasons than you'd expect.

Outlet stores have come a long way, baby. No longer mere repositories of last season's cast-offs, factory stores are now among the healthiest retail sectors, hawking new, trendy items made expressly for them. Credit the recession for the change -- and for more reasons than you'd expect.

NBC's design reality show Fashion Star wants viewers to vote -- with their wallets. The day after each episode, the line of that week's winning designer will be on sale at major retailers. Real fashions for real viewers to spend their real paychecks on. Clever -- but will it sell?

There's never a dull moment on Wall Street, especially now that the market's climbing as nicely as Jeremy Lin's stock over the past two weeks. Let's go over some of the items that will help shape the week that lies ahead.

Retailers are reporting strong sales gains in November, boosted by a discount-fueled spending binge for the start of the holiday shopping season last weekend. Now, the challenge is to keep shoppers spending throughout the most important selling period of the year.

July retail sales were solid, with Costco, Macy's, JC Penney, Nordstron and Saks Fifth Avenue all beating expectations. Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, the retail consultancy, says we could be having the best back-to-school selling season since 2006.

Firecracker remnants may still dot the nation's sidewalks, but retail forecasters are already talking about back-to-school shopping season -- and they're happy to do so. The improved economic environment is setting the stage for sales gains in everything from tablet computers to bold-colored jeans.

On Memorial Day weekend, retailers pull out all the stops to move fresh merchandise, and if you play your cards right, you can get some great deals. But even though it's the semi-official start of summer, you'll want to do your homework first. (Don't worry, you can cheat off of DailyFinance's personal finance columnist, Regina Lewis.)

Shoppers shrugged off higher gas prices and cool temperatures to give retailers a surprisingly strong March. "There is still a significant amount of pent-up demand,"said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, a research firm. "I think the job recovery is catching on."

Retailers got an unexpected showing of love from shoppers: Strong February sales. But whether consumers repeat the feat in spring could depend on gasoline prices and how good shoppers feel about their finances. March, in particular, could be tough.

Many of America's best-known retailers, including Walmart, Home Depot and JCPenney, will be stepping into the earnings spotlight this week. Their reports come on the heels of disappointing January retail sales numbers from the Commerce Department.

U.S. shoppers piled up the presents under their Christmas trees, but retailers were still a bit disappointed by their holiday haul. The Commerce Department's official tally shows what many suspected: Consumers took care of most of their shopping in November this year.

Carlos Slim, the world%u2019s richest man, bought a stake in BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the world%u2019s largest asset manager.
Mexican billionaire Slim bought a stake worth less than 2% of the asset manager, Bloomberg News reported. Slim spokesman Arturo Elias did not give details on the exact size of the stake.

As retailers wrapped up their third-quarter earnings reports this week, most merchants said they're back in cost-control mode and will tighten inventories after the holidays. With shoppers still spending cautiously and costs on the rise, profit growth will have to come from squeezing more juice out of slowly rising sales.

Saks Inc. (SKS) reported earnings of 20 cents per share for the third quarter, compared with 4 cents per share a year earlier.
The results for the third quarter included a gain of 14 cents per share related to the reversal of certain estimated income tax reserves deemed no long necessary. Without this gain, Saks would have reported earnings of 6 cents per share, the company said.

Consumers are still cautious about spending as the effects of the recession linger. But many retailers are feeling more optimistic as we head into the holiday shopping season. Here's a look at the leaders in the sector.

Knowing customers' likes and dislikes is about as basic as it gets in retailing. But for years, chain department stores got it wrong. More concerned with profits and keeping down costs, big retailers kept a tight rein on inventories and focused more on sameness. Not anymore.

Retailer Saks Inc. (SKS) reported a second-quarter net loss of $32.2 million, or 21 cents per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $54.5 million, or 39 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2009.
The results for the second quarter of 2010 include after-tax charges of $11.7 million, or 8 cents per share, related to net lease termination costs and $1.1 million of severance and other store closing costs.

Early reports from retailers show that Americans took a breather from their March shopping spree in April, partly due to an earlier Easter. So far, discounters, including Costco, are emerging as the biggest winners.

Macy's didn't waste a good economic crisis last year -- it restructured, refreshed its stores and products and rebounded with what looks to be a strong first quarter, prompting management to raise performance forecasts for the year. In the works: a fashion line from superstar Madonna.